New Venture Miden Establishes Independence from Polygon, Securing $25 Million in Funding from A16z Crypto, 1kx, and Hack Venture Capital
In a significant move for the blockchain industry, Miden, a zero-knowledge (zk)-based scaling solution developed within the Polygon ecosystem, has secured $25 million in seed funding. The investment round was led by prominent venture capital firms A16z crypto, 1kx, and Hack VC, with additional participation from Finality Capital Partners, Symbolic Capital, P2 Ventures, Delta Fund, and MH Ventures.
Miden, also known as Polygon Miden, is designed to enable private and scalable smart contracts, focusing on performance, flexibility, and scalability. It introduces a zk-native execution environment optimized for these traits rather than aiming for Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) compatibility.
According to Bobbin Threadbare, another co-founder of Miden, the platform had to be different due to the type of use cases and functionality it aims to enable. Threadbare stated that it might not be possible to build something like Miden on top of Ethereum or Solana.
### Privacy and Scalability through Zero-Knowledge Technology
Miden utilizes zero-knowledge technology to enhance privacy and scalability in large payment batches. This technology allows one party to prove that a statement is true without revealing any underlying information. In the context of Miden, zero-knowledge proofs can be used to validate large payment batches without exposing sensitive transaction data.
The efficiency of zero-knowledge proofs is crucial for handling large payment batches, as it allows for a high volume of transactions to be processed without significant delays. Miden's zk-native environment is optimized for performance, which means it can handle complex computations and large batches more efficiently than traditional EVM-based solutions.
### Cryptographic Primitives
Miden also employs cryptographic primitives, such as hash functions, which are essential for generating and verifying ZK proofs. These primitives are included in the Miden cryptographic library, known as `miden-crypto`, which provides a set of cryptographic hash functions used by Miden.
### Institutional-Grade Applications
According to Miden co-founder Azeem Khan, large institutions and investors are in need of a privacy solution that complies with regulatory requirements without compromising on performance and decentralization. Miden's focus on privacy and scalability makes it suitable for institutional-grade applications.
Sandeep Nailwal, the founder of Polygon Labs, described Miden as "what the future of blockchains looks like" in a press release. He further stated that with edge execution at its core, Miden is not just an upgrade but the blueprint for the final form of blockchain architecture.
Miden was incubated in Polygon in 2021 and is expected to launch its main network by the end of the year. The company aims to use the fresh capital to accelerate its roadmap, including expanding its ecosystem and building more developer tools.
News about the technology sector is buzzing with the advancements made by Miden, a zero-knowledge scaling solution within the Polygon ecosystem. This platform, which is also known as Polygon Miden, is designed to enable private and scalable smart contracts with a focus on performance, flexibility, and scalability. It utilizes zero-knowledge technology to enhance privacy and scalability in large payment batches, making it a suitable choice for institutional-grade applications that need a privacy solution complying with regulatory requirements.
